Heinrich von Kleist published the full novella Michael Kohlhaas in 1810. A horse dealer leaves two horses as a pledge with the Junker von Tronka. When he returns, they are thin and ruined from hard field work. Ich will meine wohlgenährten und gesunden Pferde wieder haben! I want my well-fed and healthy horses back! He goes to court, fails, and turns to violence. At the end of the novella, the Junker is sentenced to two years in prison. Kohlhaas is sentenced to death. Before his execution, he is shown his two black horses, fattened by the Junker’s men and shining with health. Kohlhaas tells the archchancellor with joy that his highest wish on earth has been fulfilled. Then his head falls under the executioner’s axe.
Kleist calls him one of the most upright and at the same time most terrible men of his time. His sense of justice made him a robber and a murderer.